VIENNA, 2nd August.
I left Munich on the 25th July and arrived on the 6th day of our journey, 30th July, at Vienna, The Floss, or raft, on board of which we embarked, is about as long as the main deck of an eighty-four gun ship and about forty feet in breadth. It is constructed of strong spars lashed together. On the spars is constructed a large platform and on the platform several cabins, containing tables and chairs. Mr F——, the Poles and myself hired a cabin to ourselves. On the raft was a great deal of merchandize going to Vienna. At Vienna the Flossmeister, after landing his passengers and merchandize, sells his raft and returns on horseback to Munich. A raft is constructed weekly at Munich from wood felled in the Tyrol and floated on the Isar down to Munich. We arrived the first evening at Freysingen, but it was nearly dark when we arrived; it seemed however as far as we could observe to be a neat village; at any rate, we met with a very comfortable inn there with good fare and good beds. We met with a very pleasant family on board the raft, bound to Landshut; M. and Mme S. were extremely well-informed people and their two daughters very fine girls.
We arrived the following day at twelve o'clock at Landshut, which is a very fine town. There is an immense Gothic tower or steeple to the Church of St Martin, about 450 feet in height. At Deckendorf, where the Isar flows into the Danube, I saluted for the first time that noble river. We stopped the night at Pillshofen and arrived the following day at twelve o'clock at Passau. Passau is a large, well built and handsome city, and is situated on the confluent of three rivers, the Inn, the Illst and the Danube; for here the two former flow into the latter, one on each side. Each of these rivers just before the point of juncture seem to be of different colors; for example the Danube appears blue, the Inn white, and the Illst black. At Passau we put up at the Wild Man (Zum Wilden Mann), a favorite sign for inns in these parts.
The Cathedral and Residenz-Schloss are striking buildings, and the city has a lively and grand appearance. The women appear to be in general handsome and well dressed. We brought to the evening at Engelhardtzell, where the barrier, painted black and yellow, announced our return to the Austrian territory. We underwent at the Customs house a rigid search for tobacco: they even took away the tobacco that some passengers had in their pouches. They were likewise very rigid about our passports. The English passports do not please them at all, on account of the features of the bearer not being specified therein, and as I answered their questions in German, they supposed me to be a native of that country and asked me what business I had with a British passport. I replied: Weil ich ein Engländer bin.—Sie ein Engländer? Sie 'sind gewiss aus Nord Deutschland. Sie sprechen recht gut Deutsch.—Meine Herren, ich bin ein Engländer: viele Engländer studieren und sprechen Deutsch, und wenn Sièmit mir eine langeUnterredung gehalten hätten, so hätten Sie bald ausgefunden durch meine Sprachfehler, dass ich kein geborner Deutscher bin.—Aber Sie haben unsere Fragen vollkommen gut beantwortet.—Warum nicht? man hat mir die nehmlichen Fragen so wiederholten Malen gestellt, dass ich die dazu gehörigen Antworte auswendig habe, wie em Katechismus.[123] The officer laughed, took up a pen, viséd and gave me back my passport.
The whole of the country on the banks of this noble river the Danube is picturesque and presents much variety. There cannot be a more delightful summer tour than a descent down this river. The next town of consequence that we arrived at was Linz, a large, populous and beautifully built city and capital of Upper Austria. The circumjacent country is in part mountainous. The Danube is very broad here, and there is an immensely long wooden bridge. We put up at the inn Zum goldenen Kreutz (golden cross). Here it became indispensably necessary to change our money for Austrian paper, for that sort of it called Wiener Währung (Vienna security), since neither foreign coin nor another description of Austrian paper, called Conventions-Münze (conventional currency), are current for ordinary purposes; and it is necessary to get them changed for the current paper _Wiener Währung._To explain this matter more fully and clearly: there are two sorts of paper money in the Austrian Dominions. One is called Conventions-Münze (conventional currency), which is fully equivalent to gold and sliver and cannot be refused as such throughout the whole of the Austrian dominions; the other, called Wiener Währung (Vienna security) is current and payable in Austria proper only, and bears a loss, out of the Archduchy. The value of the Wiener Währung fluctuates considerably, but the usual par of exchange is as 2 to 1: that means, two hundred florins Wiener Währung are equal to one hundred Convenzions-Münze or gold and silver money. Even the Convenzions-Münze bears a loss, tho' trifling, out of the Imperial Dominions. The exchange has been known to have been at 400 per cent; that is, four hundred florins Wiener Währung were only worth one hundred florins gold and silver; but just now it may be reckoned a little beyond par, fluctuating from 200 to 220. In fact, the value of a florin Wiener Währung may be calculated at a frank in French money. All this is exceedingly troublesome to travellers, particularly to those who do not understand the German language; for as they cannot read the inscription, it would be difficult for them to know the difference between one sort of paper money and the other and they might be seriously imposed upon. I advise therefore all travellers, before they arrive at the Austrian frontier, whether coming from Bavaria, Saxony, or Italy, to buy up the Wiener Währung notes they may meet with, and which may be purchased at great profit, probably, beyond the frontier, whereas if they defer purchasing till they arrive within the Austrian frontier, they can only procure the Wiener Währung at the common rate of exchange current.
At Linz we find ourselves again in a wine country. Linz is renowned for the beauty of its women, and we had a most favorable specimen in our landlord's daughter, one of the most beautiful girls I ever beheld. We talked to her a great deal, and a scene ridiculous enough occurred. She has very beautiful arms which we all seemed to admire; and all at once, by instinct as it were, the two Poles lifted up one arm and I the other, and our respective lips were fastened on either arm at the same moment as if by word of command. We apologized for the liberty we took, saying that her arms were perfectly irresistible and that we had never seen such fine ones before. She accepted our excuse with the utmost good nature, and laughed very heartily. Her father is a man of information and a good classical scholar, a thing which is by no means uncommon among the inn-keepers of Germany. We stopped here that night, and the ensuing forenoon. We had an excellent supper, very good wine, and we drank to the health of the fair Amalia, the host's daughter. Our host, who was a friend of Mr F——'s, gave us the best of every thing, and our expences did not amount to more than seven florins Wiener Währung, for supper, bed, breakfast and dinner. We passed the forenoon in visiting the different parts of the city and we were struck with the appearance of opulence and industry that prevails.
Before we arrived at Mölk, which is the next important place, we passed the town of Ens and beyond that the famous Strudel or Whirlpool which is dangerous at times for boats. Our raft was completely whirled round. This whirlpool is caused by rocks rising abruptly out of the water. The popular tradition is that this whirlpool is the abode of a very malicious and spiteful Wassernixe, Undine or Water Goblin, who delighted in drowning passengers. The scenery hereabouts is more wild and romantic than what we have hitherto passed and bears a great resemblance to the landscape on the Rhine between Mayence and Coblentz. Mölk is an Abbey and a very magnificent edifice it is, situated on an eminence which forms the angle with the river and rises quite à pio from the water's edge; it lies quite en face to those who approach it, descending the stream, so that the river seems to be terminated by it. It commands a noble prospect. I had only time to inspect hastily the church. Beyond Mölk is a range of rocks that bear a great resemblance to a wall, and jut out a great deal towards the river. It is called the Devil's wall from the tradition of the Devil having endeavoured to make a wall to dam up the river. Above this wall is the famous castle and vineyard called Spitz am Platz, and further on is the castle of Dierenstein, situated on a mountain on the left bank of the Danube. The ascent is very steep; this castle, now in ruins, was the place where Richard Coeur de Lion was confined. The walls only of the castle and part of the chapel are all that remain; we did not fail to visit a place of such celebrity. A convent lies below it.
We brought to the night at a large village where there is an excellent inn; and the next day, the Leopoldsberg, bursting forth to view, announced to us the approach to Vienna. We anchored at Nussdorf, where there is a Custom house, and from whence the distance to Vienna is about one and half mile English. After having my trunk examined, I hired a hackney coach and drove into Vienna. The barriers beyond the suburb are called Lines, and between the Suburbs and the old town is an Esplanade. We entered the Suburbs by the Währinger Linie, and the old town by the Rothes Thor (Red gate); and from thence I repaired to the inn Zum weissen Wolf (white Wolf) in the Altem Fleischmarkt (old meat-market).
VIENNA, Augt. 4.
The old town of Vienna is not very large, since you can walk round its circumference on the ramparts in two hours. It was formerly fortified, but the French blew up the fortifications, leaving only the rampart; and by so doing they did a thing of great utility for the Viennese, and gave to the Austrian government an excellent opportunity of joining the old town to the magnificent faubourgs, by filling up the esplanade which separates them with streets and squares, which would prevent the unpleasant effects of dust in dry, and the mud in wet weather, for this dust and mud renders the esplanade almost at all times a disagreeable promenade, there being a sharp wind prevalent almost the whole year at Vienna, which blows about the dust en tourbillons. Here then was an excellent opportunity, afforded by the blowing up of the fortifications, of paving the whole of the esplanade and filling it up with streets. But no! the Austrian government seem determined upon restoring the fortifications, and a considerable number of workmen are employed. This is very silly, for these fortifications are not of the least use against a foreign enemy, inasmuch as the enemy can always erect his batteries among the faubourgs and need only make one parallel, the protection and cover afforded to him by the faubourgs rendering the other two superfluous. The faubourgs are by far the finest part of the city, and the garrison of the old town, in endeavouring to defend it, would destroy by every shot they should fire the fine buildings on the faubourgs. Of the folly of making such a defence they were made fully sensible in 1809. One of the Archdukes threw himself into the old town of Vienna, with an intention of defending it to the last and refused to surrender. Napoleon caused batteries to be erected on the Rennweg or Corso covered by the church of St Charles, the Manege and Palace of the Hungarian noble guard, all magnificent buildings in the faubourgs. He then summoned the garrison of the old town again to surrender saying: "Every shot fired against the besiegers destroys your own most valuable property and finest edifices." This argument, backed by the entreaties of the citizens, had its effect and the capitulation was signed. This shows the perfect inutility of fortifying the old town of Vienna against a foreign enemy. Indeed a capital city should never be fortified; it generally contains too many things of value, ever to be exposed to the risk of a bombardment. It would seem, however, that the object of the Austrian government in reconstructing these works were to keep its own subjects at Vienna in check. But in this case it would be much more advisable to construct a fortress on the heights of Kahlenberg or of Leopoldsberg, both of which command the city and the whole expanse below. The Turks were encamped on the Kahlenberg at the famous siege of Vienna.